Emily Prentiss: Head Injury Collector
by Kurissyma san Tybalt
Summary: Emily wakes up in hospital after one of her all-too-frequent head injuries. She knows something's going on between her and JJ. She just can't remember what. Emily x JJ, rating is borderline and may increase in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**AN./ Totally self-indulgent fluff. Don't like, don't read. I'm just scratching an itch so while I love to hear that people are reading and enjoying what I write, I'm just not interested in criticism, constructive or otherwise. I'm even less interested in what you think about lesbian relationships, just putting it out there. My fanfiction is not a political statement... -Bec xx**

**Chapter 1**

I woke up with a splitting pain in my head. _Jesus, not again_, was the first thought to cross my mind. Last time I'd ended up in hospital with blunt force trauma to the head the team had welcomed me back with a cake iced with the words _Emily Prentiss: Head Injury Collector._ Apparently I'd just made good on that title yet again.

There was nobody in the room when I awoke and I was somewhat disappointed. Usually when a member of the team went down _somebody_ would hang around the hospital for them to wake up. Had my head injuries really become so common that they were no longer good for a bit of intra-team sympathy?

I flagged down a passing nurse who looked surprised to see me awake.

"Well look who's back in the world of the living," she said, smiling brightly. "You gave your friends a scare there, Agent Prentiss."

_So where were they?_ I thought grumpily. The pain in my head continued to throb.

"Don't worry," the nurse went on, as if sensing my concern—or, more accurately, my annoyance. "I passed your girlfriend on her way to get coffee ten minutes ago. She should be back anytime now."

Before I had a chance to consider the possibility that I'd awoken in some parallel universe where my team didn't give a shit about me (but I apparently had a devoted girlfriend with a weakness for caffeine) or to weigh up the pros and cons of that situation, I heard JJ's voice.

"Kaitlyn, is Emily awake?"

Kaitlyn was apparently the nurse because she nodded and then smiled back at me. "Told you she'd be right back."

Holy hell_._ If I really had woken up in a parallel universe in which _JJ_ was my girlfriend, I didn't want to go back! Sure enough, it was the bubbly blonde profiler, the star of my many shameless fantasies, who stepped past Kaitlyn into the room. In one hand she held a file and in the other a large coffee. Yep. Definitely JJ.

"I'll leave you two alone for now," Kaitlyn offered, which sounded great to me, and then she left.

"Jesus, Em," JJ laughed, shutting the door behind her. "We've been worried sick!"

"What do you mean?" I asked. I couldn't remember how I'd been injured but that wasn't necessarily a concern. I was used to head injuries messing me up a bit and was sure I'd remember with a bit of time and prompting. "How long have I been out?"

"Five days," JJ choked and now it became clear that her earlier laugh hadn't been one of amusement—'_Haha, Emily's got herself another bump to the head'—_but one of relief. And that relief was now causing her to fall apart.

Shocked and unsure what else to do, I held out my hand and when she took it I pulled her over to sit on the edge of the bed. With some difficulty I dragged myself into a sitting position and did my best to comfort her.

"Hey, Jayj, I'm fine. Seriously," I promised. "...Do I look like hell or something?"

"A bit," JJ half-laughed, half-sobbed. "Oh my god, this is embarrassing. I need to pull myself together."

I could only stare as she placed her coffee and file down on my side table and used her free hand to wipe her eyes. Belatedly, I squeezed her hand.

"I— Uh— Did you tell the nurse I was your girlfriend or something?" _Emily, you idiot, why would you ask her that?!_

I was grateful when JJ let out a real laugh. "Yeah, sorry," she admitted. "They were hounding me to go home. I just blurted it out to keep them off my back."

"How long have you been here?" I asked and JJ looked awkward.

"I rode in with you in the ambulance..."

"Jayj, you've been here five days?!"

"Shit!" JJ said suddenly. "I told Hotch I'd call if anything changed. Everyone will want to know you're up!"

I was honestly astounded. Clearly JJ was trying to play it down but for her to have stayed here all this time was so extreme I didn't know how to interpret it. I must _really_ look like hell to have her so freaked out... I fought the urge to go and check myself out in the bathroom. My head wasn't reacting well to movement; I was still reeling from sitting up.

JJ left then, to make the call, and I surveyed the room around me. Now that I thought about it there were more flowers than usual—I'd clearly been out long enough to accumulate them. I reached out to the bunch nearest me and checked the tag: Garcia's handwriting signing on behalf of the team. I smiled. Beside them were a smaller, less flashy bunch of what happened to be my favourite flowers. They had to be from JJ because I didn't think I'd told anyone else what I liked and if Garcia didn't know then the information didn't exist in soft copy. The little card nestled between the stems proved me right.

_Wake up soon, Em. __We need you back... JJ_

The handwriting was shaky, uncertain, nothing like the long confident strokes I equated with JJ. Why was she so shaken up? Bracing for pain, I raised a hand to my head and felt a tight bandage stretching all the way around. I traced my fingers over my face and winced as I discovered bruises and lacerations I couldn't remember receiving. Okay, so I really did look like hell and it was clearly more than just a bump on the head... Maybe it was a good thing I couldn't remember what had gone down.

I noticed the file JJ had left behind and picked it up briefly. I wasn't sure what we'd been working on before I was knocked out but I didn't think this was it. The rest of the team must already be on a new case. It'd explain why only JJ was around. Putting the file back on my side table, I reached for my handbag, which had been conveniently left on the floor beside me. I didn't think I could make it as far as the bathroom but I managed to dig out a small compact mirror and, groaning at my horrific appearance, applied make up to cover the bruising. I imagined the doctors would probably prefer my face clean, but I wasn't going under the bandage that seemed to be covering my major injury. I just wanted to look a little less like death when the team arrived. If they were coming at all. Maybe they'd already flown interstate.

As I placed the handbag back on the ground, JJ returned with Garcia. "The others are in Portland but they'll be here to see you the minute they get back," she explained.

"I was already in the parking lot when Jayj called," Garcia added. "Thank god you're okay, princess! You're looking better too!"

"She put on make-up while I was gone," JJ noticed, sounding somewhere between amused and annoyed. "Emily, you do realise this is a hospital, right? It's okay to look a little worse for wear?" Then she grinned. "Although maybe it's for the best—I was just about to tell you your mother's on her way too."

If there'd been any colour in my face it would have drained away at that. "My mother," I repeated disbelievingly. "_Why?_"

"Maybe because you died on the operating table, then slipped into a coma for five days?" Garcia suggested sarcastically, dropping into the seat beside my bed.

I glanced up at JJ for confirmation. "I died?"

"Twice," JJ replied tightly. "I had to resuscitate you at the scene before the paramedics arrived." She gave Garcia a warning look, which caused to technical analyst, who had been about to speak, to giggle and mime zipping her lips. But JJ moved on before I could get myself together enough to ask about it. "Anyway, you'll be fine. The doctor said so. We just..."

"It was hard to believe when you weren't waking up," Garcia supplied, squeezing my hand.

I wanted to throw a tantrum and demand they call my mother back and tell her not to come but, on the off chance she was actually worried about me, I felt too guilty to actually do it.

"Jayj, did you happen to stop by my place and get me some clothes to change into...? I don't really want mother to see me in a surgical gown."

JJ smiled understandingly and retrieved my go-bag from underneath my bed. "I restocked it for you," she confirmed. "Knowing how stubborn you are when it comes to being in hospital."

"Seeing my mother is stressful enough at the best of times," I sighed.

Garcia appeared nonplussed. "How bad can she be?"

"Ten bucks she offers to pay for plastic surgery on my face," I bet her revealingly.

"Don't do it, Pen," JJ warned. "The odds against are poor."

Garcia laughed, then reached for her phone as it began to ring. No cell phone signs didn't tend to mean a lot to Garcia—maybe she'd turned off one of the three she usually had on her. "Hot stuff? ...Yeah, I'm with her now. Yep, she's really up! ...Derek says hi, Em_."_

"Hi Derek," I called dutifully, then turned to JJ as Garcia signalled that she was going to take the call outside. "Will you walk me to the bathroom so I can change? My head is killing me... Not sure what my balance will be like."

"Of course," JJ replied quickly. "How do you want me to...?"

"Give me your arm?" I suggested, wincing as I leaned forward to toss the heavy blankets off my legs. I found myself blushing as I realised the hospital gown had shifted up considerably while I slept and JJ's attempt to preserve my modesty by running her hand along my thigh, smoothing it back down, didn't help matters.

Taking her arm, I swung one leg after the other out of bed and paused for a minute before shifting my weight to the floor. A wave of nausea washed over me and I gripped JJ's arm tighter.

"Em, maybe you should just stay in bed—"

I cut her off her with a look and she smiled weakly.

"Right. Stubborn..." She said. "Try putting your arm around my shoulders and I'll put mine around your waist..."

It took us a minute to negotiate a stable and comfortable position but with her help I was able to walk to the bathroom, keeping my head as still as possible. When she dropped my go bag onto the tiled floor I knew I was going to need more help than I'd thought. Looking down at it made my head spin. I gripped her arm tighter.

"Em, I'm getting you back to bed," JJ sighed, sounding annoyed. "There's no way you can get yourself undressed and changed."

"Can't you just help me?" I pleaded, hating how small my voice sounded. "There's a railing I can hold onto, and you can just..."

For a second I thought JJ was going to say no but instead she nodded, although her expression remained guarded. "Are you...?"

"I'm definitely wearing underwear beneath this gown. No bra though," I told her. "I don't mind you seeing me if you don't. I just want a bit of dignity back before my mother gets here. You know what she's like."

That made JJ's mind up and she unpacked a bra, t-shirt, and jeans from my bag and placed them on the plastic chair that folded out from the bathroom wall. I could see from the look on her face that she hadn't considered how difficult the jeans would be to get into when she packed them.

I also noticed that she hadn't taken out a change of underwear and I was conflicted. On the one hand, I didn't really want JJ to see _that _much, but on the other hand I'd clearly been wearing the same pair of underwear for the past five days and that made me feel a little disgusting. If I couldn't shower yet, I definitely wanted a fresh pair of panties to wear.

"What is it?" JJ asked, sensing my hesitation.

"Maybe I can manage changing underwear myself if you don't want to..."

"Em, I'm not going to be responsible for you falling and cracking your head open _again_," JJ moaned resignedly. "Let's not draw this out and make it more awkward, okay? Can you maybe lean back against the rail and hold onto it?"

I did as she asked, backing up until my lower back hit the railing behind me. I released JJ to grip the metal on either side of my waist and steeled myself as she stepped toward me. Slowly, she reached her hands around my back for the single string tie of my gown and I bit my lip as I felt it loosen, not meeting her eyes. I felt her fingertips drag over my shoulders as she pulled it forward and then the gown was gone and JJ quickly turned away to hang it on the door.

"Maybe give me the bra first," I suggested when she didn't immediately turn back around.

"Good idea," JJ replied gratefully, but it soon became clear that neither of us had thought this through.

JJ stood before me holding my bra in her hands, deliberately looking me in the eye rather than down at my bare chest. At least she'd chosen an attractive bra, I couldn't help but think. Not that I was trying to be alluring… Was I? The thought that JJ had been in my room, sorting through my underwear, was causing heat to rise unexpectedly in my groin. She'd chosen a pair of black satin panties fringed with lace and a matching bra. Had she wondered what they would look like on me as she chose them? In any case, she had good taste. I filed that thought away for future reference.

"This is ridiculous," I said, more confidently than I felt. "We're friends, Jayj. I don't care if you see my boobs. I _know_ you're going to have to touch them to get it on." Okay, maybe I could've phrased that last part a little better._ Getting it on_ was way too close to what I really wanted to do with her… Albeit perhaps when my head was a little less painful and I was steadier on my feet.

"Sorry," JJ replied, immediately stepping closer and lifting one of my arms to pull it through the bra strap.

When she let go I grasped the railing again and she did the same with the other arm. Her face burned with the most tantalising maiden blush as she gently manoeuvred each breast into its cup. I couldn't help but stare at her, studying her face. Holding my breath, I tried to detach myself from the sensation of her hands on me. As she pulled her hand out of the bra the second time her palm grazed my nipple and the breath I'd been holding came out in an unmistakeable gasp.

"You said you didn't mind," JJ protested weakly.

"I don't mind," I insisted, cringing as I heard how low my voice sounded. I fought the urge to run my tongue across my dry lips, knowing it wouldn't help the situation.

JJ clasped the bra behind my back hurriedly and then nearly ran for my t-shirt. Here lay another obstacle—how to get it on without sacrificing my balance or jostling my head. I raised one arm, then the other, leaning heavily into the railway and feeling the cold metal bite into my lower back. JJ stepped up against me and rose onto her toes to slide the t-shirt over my arms, then she gently eased it over my head. Her fingertips brushed my neck and then moved down my sides to pull the shirt all the way down. She pulled my hips toward her so the shirt could fall down past where I'd been leaning against the bar. Then as she leaned me back, her fingertips skimmed the waistline of my panties… _Uh-uh, nope. I cannot get wet just as she's about to change my underwear. Way too dangerous._

Squeezing my eyes shut, I purposely knocked my head against the tiled wall. It was agony but it did the job—pain seared through every layer of my consciousness, overcoming all thoughts of arousal.

...At least until JJ's hands clamped around my waist, holding me steady.

"Em! What happened! Are you okay!"

I struggled to ignore the feeling of her fingers digging into my skin and tipped my head back again, choking out a moan which I hope was taken as 100% pain-induced (the actual figured was probably closer to 50/50 pain and arousal).

"Em?" JJ raised one hand to the side of my face, tilting my face down toward her, desperate for an answer.

"_Fuck_," I groaned, leaning my face into her hand, refusing to open my eyes.

"What's wrong? Em, please, tell me! Did I hurt you?" JJ brushed her thumb across my cheek, apparently no longer bothered about our proximity. My stupid ploy to be less affected by our situation was only making it worse - I'd shocked her into touching me unreservedly.

"It doesn't matter," I bit out. "Can we just keep going... so I can lie down again."

"Do you still want me to change your underwear?" She asked, her eyes searching mine.

I forced myself to nod, although I wasn't sure I could handle it. "I don't like knowing how long I've been wearing them," I sighed and this time JJ didn't hesitate. She was clearly keen to get out of the bathroom and I couldn't blame her.

Without looking at me, JJ slid her thumbs under the waistband of my underwear and slid them down my thighs, the backs of her hands brushing against me until they'd passed my knees and I could kick them off. She ducked to the ground to pick them up and, in the process, brought herself unthinkingly close to my exposed lower body. Looking down, I saw her whole body tense as the realisation hit. She didn't look but her cheek was dangerously near…

I wondered if she could smell me and the thought caused my legs to wobble unexpectedly. After that JJ launched herself to her feet and tucked my panties away into a pocket of my go bag without looking at them. Then she carried over the fresh pair and knelt, again without looking. I raised each foot and chewed my lip as JJ's hand on my ankles guided them into the leg holes. This time she made an effort to hold her hands away from my body as she slid the panties up my legs. The waistband snapped against my hips as she let go.

"Almost done," she promised and I couldn't read her voice at all. I automatically nodded in reply, then regretted it. I should've just stayed in the fucking hospital gown. I'd wanted to feel like I had some dignity left when my mother arrived, but _this_ was definitely not dignified... getting aroused while my co-worker changed me in a hospital bathroom. Could JJ tell? Fuck, fuck, _fuck_...

As predicted, the jeans were harder to put on. As JJ knelt again. I felt a strong urge to place my hands at the back of her head for balance but resisted, knowing exactly where that thought (and image) was coming from and how it could be (correctly) interpreted. The jeans required some working up my legs and, with all my strength focused on using the railing to hold myself upright, I wasn't much help.

As she pulled the jeans up my legs, JJ raised herself slowly off the ground. She took a step closer to gain leverage as she tugged them up over my ass and then held my eyes as she reached down between us to fasten the zip and button. Jesus, why did _that_ feel so intimate after everything else? Maybe it was the way she leaned into me as she pulled up the zip, her closed hand brushing against the front of my panties... I gasped and my head rolled helplessly forward onto her shoulder. She froze as I let out a pant against her neck.

"Are you okay?" she asked slowly, her hand coming up to my waist again just in case.

"I'm fine," I breathed against her neck. "I mean, my head is still… But I…"

"I'm sorry if I crossed a line there."

I was gobsmacked and pulled my head back to look into her eyes. "If _you_ crossed a line?"

I watched in astonishment as a blush coloured her face. "You know what I mean."

"I honestly don't."

Her eyes searched mine questioningly, as if unsure whether or not to believe me. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," was the answer she finally came out with, and the way she said it was… I don't know. I got the picture that she was misunderstanding the way I'd reacted, which both relieved and worried me. Of course I didn't want her to know how much being exposed to her eyes and her hands had affected me physically and emotionally, but I was even less happy for her to think that she'd done something wrong or that her touch had made me feel anything but high.

She pulled away to sling my go bag over her shoulder, then offered me an arm to help me back outside and into bed. I was sitting up against the headboard by the time I could make myself reply. "...You didn't."

"What?" JJ asked, her mind having already moved on to something else.

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable," I explain. "I mean I _was_ uncomfortable, but I uncomfortable like…" _…Shit I need to get of this room before I start coming onto her and/or she realises how turned on I am._ Fuck, I couldn't say that.

"Emily, you're up," came my mother's brisk voice from the doorway, interrupting us. I'd never been so happy to see her.

"Yes, mother," I replied, sitting up straighter.

JJ's hand immediately reached out to my elbow to steady me and I gave her a smile, which to my relief she returned.

"You've looked better," mother announced as she strode into the room. "Have you thought about corrective surgery yet?"

"The doctor said it wouldn't be necessary," JJ put in and I could tell she was trying to stem her amusement, resulting from our earlier conversation with Garcia.

"Are you sure?" mother chirped ever-so-thoughtfully. "My doctor is really quite magnificent, Emily. He could fix your nose up while he's at it."

"Mother—" I began, at the same time as JJ declared, "I like Emily's nose as it is."

Both of us looked at JJ in surprise.

"_You_ have a lovely nose," mother commented, appraising JJ as if her presence had only just registered. "Emily's is a bit big, I find."

"I think it's elegant," JJ answered firmly, cutting off my protest. "Ambassador Prentiss, you've got a beautiful daughter who's lucky to be alive right now."

I blushed under my mother's gaze, while JJ looked decidedly away. …Did she really think I was beautiful?

"Agent Hotchner told me you revived Emily at the scene," mother recalled. Then, surprisingly, she added, "Thank you."

The sincerity of the simple statement shocked me. Of course I knew my mother was glad I was alive—she may never have been the most devoted parent but she hardly wished me dead. I just didn't expect her so _say_ it so unambiguously. I reached for her hand, registering her own shock as I did so.

"I'll be fine, mother," I promised.

She held my eye for a moment longer then nodded sharply and pulled back. "Well, I— That's all I— I'm very busy."

Biting back a smirk, I nodded too. "Of course you are, go on," I encouraged her and, seeming delightfully uncomfortable, my mother escaped the room.

"Do you _really_ think I'm beautiful or were you just trying to shut her up?" I asked once she was gone. What was it with me today? I really needed to repair my verbal filter—there was no way I'd have asked that so unobliquely a few days ago.

JJ only raised an eyebrow. "Emily, you let me see you naked and you have to ask if I really…?" She breathed out hard. "I thought it was obvious how much I…"

It was hard to mistake JJ's tone now and I offered her my hand, pulling her to sit on the edge of my bed as she hesitantly took it.

"You thought you were obvious?" I whispered, my voice unexpectedly low and smooth. "When you knelt down and your face was so close... I was waiting for you to comment on how wet I was getting."

_Was_ may have been the wrong word, I couldn't help but think as JJ's intense blue eyes stared into mine.

"Emily, did me undressing you turn you on?" she asked carefully.

I could only nod, catching my bottom lip between my teeth again. JJ's eyes followed the motion and seemed to linger at my mouth.

I wanted to lean in and kiss her but somehow that felt far more dangerous than talking about being aroused. A kiss didn't just mean _I'm turned on by you,_ it meant something else, something more personal that I didn't think I was ready for JJ to know right now. At least I knew one thing for certain—her reaction before had proved that she was as attracted to me, physically, as I was to her.

At that moment, Garcia returned, slipping her cell phone into her pocket as she did so. "Hey, sorry I took so long," she apologised. "Jayj, Hotch wants to know if you're okay to join the team in Portland now that Emily's up? I told him I'd stay here."

"What about me? I can come," I suggested hopefully, and both women gawked at me.

"Emily, you just came out of a _coma,_" JJ reminded me. "I just had to dress you, remember?"

Garcia's eyes widened. "I was wondering how you managed that…" she admitted, then she winked. "You lucky thing."

JJ sighed roughly and, to Garcia's delight, asked, "Which one of us?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was almost a week before the team returned from Portland and I was still in the hospital, although getting closer to being released. I made a point of walking past the nurse's station as often as possible to prove that I was up and about and on the mend. The Halloween-style bandage had been removed from around my head and I'd been dressing myself unaided to boot. I was definitely ready to go home.

To make it clear that I no longer required assistance, I'd taken to only getting into my hospital bed in the evenings when I was ready to sleep. During the day, I preferred to sit outside in the small garden. It may have been an effective way of showing them they were wasting hospital resources on me if I hadn't collapsed on my way down the third or fourth time, reopening a cut in my head much to my doctor's annoyance. Now I mostly sat by the window or in the hospital cafe under Garcia's strict supervision.

Everyone was very contrite about not having been able to come sooner—the case had been a bad one but it was all wrapped up now and they were glad to see me up and about. Garcia had been to my place to bring me more clothes but I purposely wore the same t-shirt and jeans JJ had changed me into for the day they were coming home. I also made sure I smelled a little nicer than I probably had that day. It had the desired effect—JJ's eyes were running up and down my body the second she stepped into the room. I knew she was remembering just what I looked like beneath those clothes.

I had to force myself to look away from her darkening eyes and acknowledge the rest of the team.

"Hey, you're here now," I said, letting them off the hook. "But do I get another cake when I come back to work?"

"None of your business," Garcia replied, tapping me on the arm playfully. I had suspected she'd been behind the last one and now I had no doubt.

"Okay, but can it be chocolate?" I asked cheekily.

"Get yourself cleared to leave and find out!" Morgan teased, as if I hadn't spent every waking moment for the past week trying to do exactly that.

"When do you get out?" Hotch asked and he was smiling too.

"Tomorrow morning _if she's good_," JJ said, surprising the others. Since she left for Portland we'd been calling each other every day and I'd kept her better updated than the others. "What?" she asked, aware of their stares. "I pay attention."

She was one shade off a perceptible blush and I was curious to know why. Had something gone on that I didn't know about? I was afraid to ask with the whole team present but resolved to talk to Derek later.

"So that's _Monday_ I'll be back at work," I chipped in cheerfully, "If you're wondering what day to bring my cake. …Decent coffee would also be appreciated."

"Don't get me started on how bad the coffee is here," Garcia moaned, and I had to hand it to her. She'd been right here with me all week, drinking awful coffee and sitting in the most goddamn uncomfortable chairs man has ever constructed.

"We should probably let you get some rest if you're being released tomorrow," Reid suggested.

"Oh god, no—I am so bored!" I pleaded, panic edging into my voice. "I'm so well rested I'll probably fall back into a coma if I go to sleep. Don't go yet! Reid, I am even willing to play Doctor Who Monopoly with you again if that's what it takes!"

"Dude, Doctor Who Monopoly?" Morgan repeated, nudging Reid playfully.

"Don't tell me you don't _at least_ have a pack of cards on you," I continued to beg, but I was ignored.

"I'll come pick you up tomorrow before I go to work," JJ offered as the rest of the team began to shuffle toward the door. "It's not hard for me to drop you home on my way through."

"Aww, okay… Wait, Morgan, can you stick back a second?" I asked, suddenly remembering I needed to talk to him.

Morgan raised an eyebrow as if to say_ "me?"_ but nodded anyway.

Rossi and JJ both gave equally suspicious looks but they left along with the others.

"Close the door," I instructed and Morgan did so, still looking somewhere between curious and amused. "Something happened since I was out that everybody knows about except me. Don't lie, I can _tell_ when you're lying."

"Oh you think so?" Morgan laughed. "Well I don't know what you mean, princess. I guess we're all just wondering what came of that little thing you did _before_ you went out."

I narrowed my eyes, shaking my head. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember?"

This wasn't funny anymore; I was starting to feel exposed. "Morgan, the doc says I'm suffering from retrograde amnesia. I lost a couple weeks. I don't even remember the case we were working on. Garcia _told_ me about it but I don't remember it at all."

Morgan's demeanour changed at that. "Does Hotch know?"

"That was the first time I've _seen_ Hotch," I reminded him. "Besides, I've lost my memory after a head injury before. It's just usually back by now."

"You were in a coma for five days, Emily. Mention it to Hotch, okay?"

I shrugged, knowing already that I wasn't going to say anything that might keep me in hospital longer. They'd already done scans of my brain and everything looked fine. There was some swelling but it was lessening—no permanent damage, and so on. Still, I couldn't even remember things like whether or not I'd taken my red coat to the dry cleaner yet, or if I'd paid back Reid for bringing me lunch a couple of weeks ago. It was disconcerting.

"So what did I miss?" I pressed. "You all started acting weird before. It was something to do with JJ."

Morgan looked awkward at that. "I don't know if I should say if you don't remember… Maybe that's better anyway."

"Why the hell would it be better for the whole team _but me_ to know what _I_ apparently did," I bit out. "Seriously, Morgan. I need to know. Garcia told me the unsub came at me with a pipe and I went straight out—did that not happen?"

"You went straight out all right," Morgan confirmed reluctantly. "At least as far as I know. We were ten or fifteen minutes behind you. We caught the unsub leaving out the back and split up to search the building… Em, you were dead. By the time I saw you, JJ was already down on her knees performing CPR. She was a mess. To be honest with you, I thought she was clutching at straws but I wasn't about to stop her.

I tried to picture the scene but found I couldn't. "Okay, but then she got my heart started again and I was out like a light for five days. If I did something to weird you guys out it must have been before that, right?"

Morgan shifted uncomfortably, as if he were still undecided about telling me, but eventually he gave in. Dragging a chair up beside me, he looked out the window for a good minute before meeting my eyes. "You woke up," he said simply. "It was after the surgery that you slipped into the coma. You woke up at the scene and were in and out of consciousness all the way to the hospital."

"I don't remember," I said needlessly.

Morgan nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Look, Emily, if it sounds like we're taking this lightly, we're not. We just kind of assumed that you and JJ talked it through since you both seemed…"

"Morgan, I don't even know what it is you think we needed to talk through. JJ certainly didn't tell me anything."

"…You kissed her, Em." Morgan's eyes were intense on mine. He sounded guilty, like he was betraying a past Emily by telling the current one what she'd done. "She was giving you mouth to mouth and you woke up and started coughing and when you stopped she was right there and you just… you know, pulled her in and kissed her. But I mean, it was a high-risk situation; you were both stressed out. Hell, you'd been _dead_... We were all prepared to give you a little license, JJ included."

"I kissed her," I repeated, leaning back with a dumb expression on my face. How could I not remember that? Had my brain literally shut itself down in embarrassment?

"Yeah," Morgan laughed, clearly relieved to have got it out. "Rossi was the only other one who saw it. The others came after. But I'm pretty sure Rossi would have told Hotch and, well, you know Garcia is like JJ's _BFF_ or something, so she probably knows..."

"And did you—" I swallowed the lump in my throat uncomfortably. "Did you talk to JJ after that?"

"I really can't say if I did or if I didn't," Morgan replied, sounding as awkward as I felt. "Princess, you know I love you, but anything JJ might have said to me about you would've been said in confidence, you get that, right?"

I sighed, not wanting to admit that he was right. "But you said I was conscious most of the way to the hospital. What happened after I kissed her?"

"JJ rode in with you," Morgan answered. "I only know you were awake from her. I wasn't there so if you guys talked, I just don't know about it. They were wheeling you into surgery when I got there. You were in there a damn long time. JJ was losing it. She wouldn't talk to anyone. She flinched away if you touched her… Then they came out and they said you'd coded on the table but they'd got you back and they were hopeful… But you didn't wake up. Jayj stayed overnight at the hospital. We were all there for the first couple days. Although all of us went home except her. Then we got an urgent call. None of us liked leaving you. I thought Garcia might refuse but in the end she agreed to come, while JJ stayed. Nobody argued with her when she said she wouldn't leave you." He sighed then. "I'm sorry, Em… I assumed that you two had… You know, you kind of seemed like…

I put him out of his misery. "Something else happened between JJ and I the day I woke up."

Morgan perked up considerably now that the pressure wasn't on him to provide the gossip. "What exactly do you mean by _something_?"

I blushed helplessly. "I asked her to help me get undressed. It wasn't unreasonable. I was pretty incapacitated, to be honest. I could barely move without coming over dizzy. She came into the bathroom with me and undressed me and—_Jesus_, Morgan—I thought it was just me getting hot. I was trying to hide it. I literally banged my injured head against the wall _on purpose_ to try and feel something, anything, other than goddamn ripe for her… But then afterwards she pretty much flat out admitted that she was turned on too. Then my mother arrived and Garcia came back and we haven't— We haven't really talked about it since. I mean, I've been calling her; she's been calling me. We've talked about other stuff, so I know she's not avoiding me…"

"She offered to pick you up tomorrow," Morgan reminded me. "Sounds like the opposite of avoidance to me."

"Right?" I agreed, perhaps too quickly. "I just don't know if I should bring it up again and, fuck, if I kissed her that just makes things even more complicated…"

"I can't speak for JJ, Em, but if anything, that kiss should make things simpler," Morgan argued. "For someone who'd just been resuscitated it was pretty damn full on... Gave new meaning to the _kiss of life_ if you know what I'm saying."

"Did she kiss me back?" I barely breathed out.

Morgan sat back in his chair a little and gave a short laugh. "Yeah... Wow. She definitely did. Rossi and me were just standing there. I was yelling into my piece for the others to get their asses to our position and send help. You woke up, coughed yourself hoarse and then you just stopped and reached up to pull her down and JJ was..."

"What?" I choked out. Jesus, why was my voice failing me now?

"Well, she'd just spent at least ten minutes trying to resuscitate you. It was pretty emotional for her when you woke up," Morgan replied obliquely. Then he grinned. "I would've looked away but honestly I was so shocked. I hadn't pegged you felt that way at all. And then JJ... Look, all I'm gonna say is that I'm pretty sure I saw some tongue in there and you weren't the only one who was breathing hard when you pulled apart. No wonder she got a bit hot under the collar when you asked her to undress you."

My mouth had fallen open. I'd kissed JJ, _JJ had kissed me back_, and then she'd agreed to undress me knowing how I obviously felt about her? I wasn't sure if I wanted to call her back right now or crawl back into bed and never speak to anyone—especially JJ, Rossi and Morgan—ever again.

Morgan seemed to sense my dilemma. "You've got a lot to think about, princess," he told me, standing up.

This time I didn't protest as he made to leave. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Part of me wanted to ask JJ about the kiss we'd apparently shared, but the rest of me was terrified to even let on that I'd been told. For the time being, it was like a fairytale. It was perfect and untainted, told from an outsider's perspective. Talking to her about it would be inviting a judgment anywhere between, "Yes, it happened and it was amazing," "Yes, it happened but it didn't mean anything," and—somehow even more frighteningly—"Yes, it happened and I wish Morgan had never told you."

What was I supposed to say, anyway? _"Hey, Jayj. Morgan told me we made out after you gave me CPR. Just wondering if you wanted to do that again sometime I'm not suffering from a major head trauma?"_

Because I did. I fucking did. But that wasn't how you came out and/or confessed your love to someone you had loved as deeply, or for as long, as I'd loved JJ.

In the end, I let her drive me back to my apartment without saying a single word about the kiss. In fact, without saying much at all. I know she noticed but blessedly she didn't comment.

Just as she was about to leave, though, JJ turned back and reached out to touch my arm. "Emily, do you mind if I come and check on you after work?" she asked.

She was way too polite. I wanted to tell her it was okay for her to let her guard down around me, but then I knew that I was behaving the exact same way.

"Of course," I answered. "I don't suppose you'd pick some dinner up on your way over? I'm not going to feel much like cooking tonight." I indicated my injured head sheepishly and a grin spread across JJ's face as she nodded. I think she was glad to have a legitimate reason to come by.

"Text me later with what kind of food you want me to pick up," she suggested. "I'd better run now."

I was both disappointed and relieved to see her go. My day wasn't particularly exciting once she'd gone but it wasn't stressful or difficult either. I explored my still somewhat reduced range of motion in the privacy of my own home, poked a few bruises just to check they still hurt, and fiddled with my dressings more than I should have. I also watched enough crappy TV in the space of eight hours to make me wonder why I even owned a television.

I was stir-crazy. By the time evening fell I'd already texted JJ six times changing my mind about what I wanted for dinner. Finally she gave up and told me that my opinion had been rendered invalid and she was bringing Chinese whether I liked it or not.

I surrendered the decision to her and yet she continued to text me, even when I knew she should have been working. Just little things, unimportant things. Around lunchtime she called me for so unapologetically flimsy a reason that I thought we could have been starring in our own private romantic comedy. It was only a step above the cliché _I just wanted to hear your voice. _

I understood though. What had happened between us was new, exciting, and—maybe more importantly—unresolved. It was a source of drama to entertain her at the office and a source of relief when she let herself think about what might have happened if I hadn't woken up. I was feeling the same thing and I had far less to occupy myself than she did.

At 7 o'clock JJ called to say she'd be at my place in half an hour and to get some plates ready for dinner. I did as she asked and then stressed about my appearance for an uncharacteristically long time. You weren't supposed to dress up for Chinese food, especially when you'd only been released from hospital that morning, and yet I wanted to impress her. No. I wanted to _attract_ her. I vainly wished my head injury were less conspicuous.

Eventually I settled for light make up, a tight red tank top (which I wore beneath a looser sweater I fully intended to take off at some point) and the same jeans I'd been wearing that morning. I had to give at least the impression of being casual about this.

* * *

We'd already eaten and retired to the sofa by the time JJ asked, in an equally false-casual manner, "What were you talking to Morgan about yesterday afternoon?"

I stifled a knowing smile. Then I leaned back to stretch my arms above my head and slowly slipped my sweater off. I hid any sign that I noticed she was watching - although she was, and I did.

"Oh, that?" I hummed. "I wanted to know why everyone was acting so strangely at the hospital."

I could tell from the way JJ's face shifted that she knew exactly what Morgan had told me. Still she had to ask, "...How much did he say?"

Now I did smile, properly. "I _hope_ he told me everything," I answered. "But I don't know. I don't remember it, Jayj." I paused—suddenly unsure—then, just as JJ began to tell me not to worry about it, I added, "I wish I _did_ though..."

There was no way I could have averted my eyes as JJ looked into me, simultaneously sucking her bottom lip into her mouth. "Maybe I'm being given a second chance at a first impression," she suggested, her voice lilting hopefully. She was testing the waters and for a second I was blissfully confident about where that could lead.

"I don't know," I teased. "From what Morgan told me, our first kiss must have been pretty amazing."

JJ leaned toward me now, one eyebrow raised, lips parted yet retaining something of a suggestive smirk… "There is _always _room for improvement, Emily Prentiss."

For her, it was our second kiss. She must have expected the way my lips felt against hers, how I kissed, how I used a hand on her neck to pull her closer when I wanted more. For me, it was all new. As our lips met, I let out a muffled gasp and had to wonder if I'd done the same thing the first time. She kissed me like she knew what I was going to need before I knew it myself. And what did I know about her? I knew she'd saved my life and then let me make out with her. I knew that, whatever I'd done that first time, it was enough to make her want to do it again.

"I can almost _hear_ you thinking," JJ groaned, pulling back to give me an annoyed look. But I noted the flush of her cheeks and the glassy quality of her eyes regardless.

"Tell me what happened once you resuscitated me," I demanded quietly.

"Morgan already told you," JJ answered.

She tried to move in for another kiss but I leaned back and eyed her until she nodded reluctantly and curled her legs up underneath her.

"I'll tell you what I can," she told me, but her voice was choked. "It's just that when I think about it I feel sick. I know you're okay, Em, but the panic is still there. You were gone too long. But maybe if I start with you waking up… It was so sudden. You scared the hell out of me, and the others, gasping and coughing. I guess I leaned over you a bit—exhausted, or wanting to make sure you were alright…"

I stroked a hand through JJ's soft hair as her voice faltered. She was so beautiful, she always had been, but her shattered expression broke my heart. I was torn between feeling acutely guilty and incredibly lucky. How many people had someone in their lives that cared for them the way JJ cared for me? Swallowing hard, she went on.

"I said something. I don't know what," she admitted. "I was so relieved, Em. Nothing was registering properly. But whatever I said, it made you look at me differently. It was like you were looking right into my soul. I know that sounds seriously stupid. But you'd just been dead and yet you looked so calm." She chewed her lip uncertainly. "Em, you're lying, beat up, on the concrete floor of some utter lunatic's basement and you look like you're in church or something. And then you touch my neck and pull me in and kiss me so softly I feel like..."

"…What, Jayj?"

"I felt like crying," JJ admitted, seemingly surprised by her own words. "Jesus… I was so relieved I thought I was going to collapse and then when you kissed me I felt open or something—vulnerable but also so connected to you, Em. I cupped my hands around your cheeks and I kissed you back. Honestly, it may have been you who started it but I was right there with you. I couldn't get close enough. It was like the deeper I kissed you, the more I... I don't know. There's no point in saying this now."

"When Morgan told me what I'd done, I was afraid I'd messed everything up between us," I admitted ruefully and JJ smiled at that.

"Em, Morgan and Rossi were both in the room," she reminded me. "And despite what Morgan may have said, there was no way either of them got the impression that I wanted or _needed_ that kiss any less than you did. That's why they were all acting strange in there. They— Well, I don't know but I'm guessing they assume we're an item now. They're teasing us."

A light blush coloured JJ's cheeks then. After that gorgeous speech she'd just given, she was embarrassed about the team thinking we were a couple? It was so unexpected, it was endearing. And at least it made sense now—the sexual tension that had been so obvious between us at the hospital. I couldn't help but chuckle. The corner of JJ's lip quirked upward in confusion or amusement and she looked so sweet, I was exhausted of not kissing her.

This time I didn't over-think it. I leaned closer and captured JJ's lips before she could so much as ask why I was laughing. She whimpered as I tangled my hand in her hair and moved quickly from her lips to her neck, kissing my way down the column of soft, white skin she exposed to me. Intermittently, I paused to suck or bite a particularly sensitive spot and she made the sweetest sounds... I was sure I hadn't done _this_ in front of Rossi and Morgan.

"Em..." JJ sighed and I could feel heat rising in me as she pulled me in closer. Her hands ran the length of my arms and then settled on my waist as she took my lips again.

She kissed me slowly, deeply, like she was tasting me. And the sounds that came out of her mouth were quiet mewls, quick breaths, and soft laughs full of bliss and wonder. Our kisses slowed until they were little more than smiles pressed together but that was fine with me, in fact it was perfect. She was perfect. How was she so perfect?

"You are so much more than I deserve," I heard myself moan. I hadn't consciously decided to say it—it hardly needed stating, as far as I was concerned—but JJ drew back, bewildered.

"You're kidding," she breathed out. Then, "…You're really not?" I watched her shake her head disbelievingly. "Emily, putting aside the fact that you are worthy of so much more than you understand... I'm not a _prize_. You don't get my heart as a reward for the good things you've done and I can't withhold it because you're imperfect either. That's love. …Jesus. It is, Em. I love you so much. All I want is to be with you in every way you'll let me."

I wonder if JJ knew just what I would have done for her just then—in that moment when everything was so perfect, so new, so obviously right. I felt ready for anything. But instead of pushing it, I kissed her lips again, a short, sweet kiss. Then I withdrew.

"I should get some sleep," I admitted reluctantly. "My head is still kind of hazy from the pain medication and I really don't want to miss this."

"As long as you don't forget again." There was a hint of insecurity beneath the joke.

I took her hand and made sure she was looking directly into my eyes before I answered. "_Never_, Jennifer."

"Okay," JJ agreed, turning her head away in a vain attempt to hide a blush. "But tomorrow let's go out to dinner."

I tilted her chin back toward me and grinned cheekily. "Are you asking me out on a date, Jareau?"

"Don't get cocky, Prentiss," JJ teased back, relief flooding through her voice. "But, yes, I am."

* * *

The next morning I woke up to a message from Garcia telling me she was coming around that night and bringing movies so to make sure I had popcorn and drinks in. While I was usually happy to receive such messages (I secretly enjoyed it when my friends inserted themselves into my personal life) this meant I had to explain to Penelope why I already had dinner plans the day after I was released from hospital.

I didn't want to jinx what had happened with JJ by discussing it flippantly over the phone, so I told Garcia I'd come and meet her on her lunchbreak. I forgot, of course, that I'd been banned from driving until I'd finished my course of medication and was fairly embarrassed to have to call her back and ask for a lift.

"You look different," was the first thing Garcia said as I climbed into her car.

"The swelling's on its way down," I replied, although I knew that wasn't what she meant.

"Uh-huh," Garcia chuckled, unconvinced. "Did something happen when JJ dropped you home yesterday morning?"

Jeez, she wasn't even trying to be subtle…

"You, Penelope, are dropping an awful lot of hints for someone who thinks I don't remember kissing JJ last week."

Garcia grinned widely. "Okay, so Morgan may have mentioned that he told you about that, clever clogs! So go on—spill the beans! Tell me you've a least talked to her about it?"

"Yes," I sighed. Then I glanced out the window as a bout of mischievousness came over me. There was no point trying to get her off the subject completely but I could at least play with her a bit before the truth came out… "I told JJ that kissing her was a mistake and that I was sorry for putting her in such an awkward position. She said she forgave me and then we shook hands…"

I had her up to the part about shaking hands and the look on her face was one of total despair.

"What! Don't you dare tease me like that!" she gasped, slapping a hand against the steering wheel. "Dammit, Emily! Now I badly need a coffee. Not to mention some details! Let's just stop here."

I couldn't help but laugh as Garcia hastily parked her beloved car and led the way to the nearest cafe.

"You honestly do look different, Em," she reiterated as we found a table. "Brighter, happier. I'd be more pissed off at you if you didn't. But I'm guessing this means you and Jayj actually talked it out?"

I nodded, hiding a broad smile behind my menu. "Yeah, we did," I admitted.

Garcia was having none of my evasion. She practically grabbed the menu out of my hands, ordered on behalf of us both, and then turned her full attention on me. "Emily Prentiss, I have never seen you smile so much in one sitting so it must have been good!" she declared. Then it hit her—"Oh my god, when you said you were busy tonight... You and JJ are going on a date aren't you!"

I couldn't think of anything to say so I just nodded, wishing I still had the menu to hide behind.

"Oh my god, Em! That's amazing! Did you kiss her again? ...You did, didn't you! Was it _amazing_?" Garcia sighed blissfully and I just continued nodding, biting my lip.

"She told me she loved me, Pen."

I thought Garcia was going to pass out, or at least strain a muscle in her jaw from smiling so much. "About bloody time!" she cried. "Jesus, Em, I've watched her fight her feelings for you forever! You have no idea how long this has been coming."

"What, and you didn't _tell me_!" I burst out, causing Garcia to laugh loudly and throw her hands up in mock-defence.

"Hey, it's not like JJ was admitting anything!" She protested. "Still, I _saw_ the way she looked at you. All those lingering gazes and touches. Watching you two interact was like watching the first ten minutes of a romantic comedy on repeat for _years_. It's about time you guys figured it out. Even Hotch knew!"

This was too much. "Hold up. _What?!"_

"Um, _yes_!" Garcia exclaimed, enjoying the power she unmistakeably held over me. "He hasn't known for as long as me_, _of course, but I guess we can't all be omniscient!"

"Penelope, you'd better explain right now!"

"Patience, my sapphic sapphire!" Garcia twittered gaily. "It was a few months ago—on that case we had in Oregon. I may or may not have been watching you and Jayj have a bit of a private moment across the precinct and suddenly Hotch is standing beside me. He follows my gaze and _mmhm_s a bit. I didn't think he was going to comment on it, at least not to me, but then he turns and asks if I think he should _say something_ to you both!"

"Say something? Like _what_?" I nearly shrieked, forgetting for a moment that we were out in public.

"I don't know! Maybe something like '_Would you mind reserving your sexual tension for after the case?'_" Garcia suggested delightedly. "I told him nothing would surprise you guys more. God, you were so oblivious!"

"Man, you're not kidding when you say you're omniscient, are you?" I sighed. "…And now the whole bloody BAU knows about me kissing JJ!"

"It could be worse," Garcia pointed out with a wink. "At least JJ feels the same way, right? How embarrassing would it be if she didn't and everyone knew she'd _rejected_ you!"

"Fuck, I don't want to imagine," I groaned, resisting the urge to bury my face in my arms.

Thankfully the arrival of our food provided a welcome distraction to us both.

"So," Garcia segued. "Tell me about this date! Who asked whom?"

"She asked me," I replied. I hoped I was giving off the impression that I didn't really want to talk about it but to be honest I was feeling positively gleeful. "I don't know where we're going or what we're doing so there's no point asking. We'll probably keep it low key. You know, on account of the whole coma thing."

"Yeah, that small issue," Garcia laughed, shaking her head. Then she steepled her hands together and gave me a sagely nod. "Well, I guess I should wish you luck, Em. Be safe tonight. And don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Oh? …And what exactly _wouldn't_ you do, Pen?" I asked sceptically.

I received a wink and a sly smile for this.

"In your place?" Garcia confirmed. "Well, for a start, I wouldn't go home without fucking JJ's brains out…"


End file.
